Academy

[Unregistered]

Good evening all,

Have been prepping for applying to an academy and wanted to get some viewpoints from others.

Starting in January/February I will have been tobacco free enough to meet the local LEO agencies policy on the matter. Would you recommend putting in to sponsor myself and go through HCC or one of the other local academies then apply once the academy is finished? Or try to apply to HCSO or Pinellas and be sponsored. Trying to stay local as I live in Hillsborough but I heard it's hard to get hired on with TPD without prior experience.

Any recommendations on the route to go of being sponsored vs self sponsoring?

[Unregistered]

Good evening all,

Have been prepping for applying to an academy and wanted to get some viewpoints from others.

Starting in January/February I will have been tobacco free enough to meet the local LEO agencies policy on the matter. Would you recommend putting in to sponsor myself and go through HCC or one of the other local academies then apply once the academy is finished? Or try to apply to HCSO or Pinellas and be sponsored. Trying to stay local as I live in Hillsborough but I heard it's hard to get hired on with TPD without prior experience.

Any recommendations on the route to go of being sponsored vs self sponsoring?

I recommend you choose ANY other job, career or profession on the planet. That is not a joke and I am not kidding. If you are thinking about just now entering law enforcement you need to seriously see a professional about what your issues are. If it’s a government job, benefits and pension you are after, go be a fireman. Decades ago a few old school cops tried to tell me this and that was when the job was fun. I assumed they couldn’t be serious because they were doing the same job. I now know they were just stuck and had to ride it out.

[Unregistered]

I recommend you choose ANY other job, career or profession on the planet. That is not a joke and I am not kidding. If you are thinking about just now entering law enforcement you need to seriously see a professional about what your issues are. If it’s a government job, benefits and pension you are after, go be a fireman. Decades ago a few old school cops tried to tell me this and that was when the job was fun. I assumed they couldn’t be serious because they were doing the same job. I now know they were just stuck and had to ride it out.

I appreciate your reply. I actually worked for FD for almost 7 years before making a career change back in 2017. The one I'm in now is what is making we want to switch to LEO as I miss the public service aspect. Thank you for your honest point of view.